Rachel Dolezal Still Identifies As Black, Plans On Writing Book

Rachel Dolezal, who formerly served as the head of an NAACP chapter, was accused of falsely portraying herself as African American last year. Though born to white parents, Dolezal maintained throughout the backlash that she identifies as black – and she still does.

Rachel Dolezal Still Identifies As Black

Dolezal claims to have long identified as black, and sees no reason to change her feelings about her racial identity. What she does regret, however, is not being more forthright in talking about her relationship to her race.

“I don’t have any regrets about how I identify. I’m still me and nothing about that has changed,” Dolezal said on Today. “I do wish I could have given myself permission to really name and own the me of me earlier in life. It took me almost 30 years to get there. Certainly, I feel like it’s a complex issue. How do you just sum up a whole life of kind of coming into who you are in a sound bite? Those conversations? I feel like moving forward. I don’t have any regrets about that.”

The controversy surrounding Dolezal’s racial identification led to the dismantling of her career within the African American community. Dolezal hopes to soon get back to work, and is even planning on writing a book that centers on race.

“It’s been some work to rebuild and get things back on track with life. We’re doing well. Looking at some new opportunities going into 2016,” she said. “Just looking forward to getting back into racial and social justice work.”